Although some may refer to what organic growers put down as "fertilizers" they are soil amendments and you need to be able to commit to a 5 year plan of action depending on how bad the soil you have is now.

While this may be heretical an occasional use of plant poisons will not kill the soil microbes. The problem is that many people overuse those plant poisons and do not feed the Soil Food Web and that combination does kill them.

Spraying for mosquitoes does more harm to the beneficial insects above ground than to the Soil Food Web, although the residue from those sprays could do some harm in large enough quantities.

The first thing to do is have a good reliable soil test done to see if the lawn actually needs to be fed and while the fee Cornell charges may seem quite high, $50.00 per sample, it is worthwhile because in many instances simply adjusting the soil pH has done far more for a lawn than all the "fertilizer" you could buy. Then dig in with these simple soil tests to see what more needs be done.

1) Soil test for organic
material. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in
a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and
replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24
hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight.
For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the
bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above
that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole
1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains
away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain
away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains’ too quickly and needs
more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the
soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful
of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is
released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a
finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your
soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant
odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria
will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to a point. Too much organic matter
can be bad as well.

5) Life. How many
earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5,
according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that
is not healthy.

Once you have a good idea where the soil is you can then make plans about what needs be done to correct any problems.

kimmq is kimmsr